Dearka Elsman
Dearka Elsman is the pilot of the stolen Earth Alliance's GAT-X103 Buster Gundam and engages the assault ship Archangel as a member of the Le Creuset Team throughout the First Bloody Valentine War. During the Second Bloody Valentine War he is assigned to the Joule Team, commanded by Yzak Joule. Personality and Capabilities Dearka's father, Tad Elsman, is a member of the PLANT Supreme Council (representing the PLANT Febuarius) and a supporter of Patrick Zala during the First Bloody Valentine War. Dearka's initial negative view of Naturals are shared by his father. Dearka has a humorous and somewhat arrogant personality, especially towards Naturals, who he referred to as "weaklings" with his usual sarcasm. Commander Rau Le Creuset indirectly refers to Yzak and Dearka not being model soldiers, which is why he prefers them to Nicol Amalfi and Athrun. Being a lot alike, especially in their views towards Naturals, Dearka often backs his more verbally direct teammate and friend, Yzak, in any quarrels amongst the four of them. After Destiny, however, Dearka begins to act less of a stimulant for Yzak's temper and attempts to calm him when he loses his temper, especially towards Athrun. After his first-hand experiences aboard the Archangel, especially with the CIC officer Miriallia Haw, Dearka re-evaluates his opinions towards the Naturals and realizes that all human life is equally worth protecting. Cosmic Era 71 Cosmic Era 73 Break the World Dearka, as Yzak Joule's right hand man upon the Nazca-class battleship, Voltaire along with Nicol Amalfi. The Joule Team was sent to demolish the ruins of Junius Seven, which were on a crash course to Earth due to the tampering of extremist believers of Patrick Zala. Dearka was sent out to lead the rest of the Joule Team in setting Meteor Breakers up all around the destroyed colony. The Minerva was sent in to aid them, and was at the time carrying Athrun Zala on board, and they're bombarded by said extremists. Same old same old, upon the reunion with Athrun; Yzak calling him a bastard, telling him not to order him around since he was the commander now, something all too familiar with Dearka because nothing's really changed at all. Fighting in his ZGMF-X8013 Verde Buster, they manage to stop the attack of the extremists and Phantom Pain, but not quickly enough to finish the demolition of the Junius Seven ruins. The Buster was then damaged trying to split Junius Seven, but it still fell to Earth, causing mass destruction of the planet, and as the Minerva descends to Earth along with it, Gilbert Dullindal boards the Voltaire to be escorted back to the PLANTs. The Earth Alliance launches a preemptive attack on the PLANTs after these events, and the Joule Team joins in the mass defense against them. As they hold one team off, the Alliance sneaks a second team in from a different direction, armed with nuclear missiles. Shocked, Dearka and Yzak rush in to try and stop them, but are unable to make it. Luckily, ZAFT was armed with a new weapon, the Neutron Stampeder, which took all of the ships out. Pretty soon, Athrun was facing indecisiveness at Gilbert's offer to allow him back into ZAFT, pretty new mobile suit and all. He gets a visit from Dearka, Nicol and Yzak, and he explains that if he wants to go out, his stay was still considered a visit by someone from a foreign country, and with recent events it was a precaution of sorts, so they were sent for that reason, also because somebody (most likely Chairman Dullindal) knew about the relationship between the four. They go to visit the graves of Miguel Aiman and Rusty Mackenzie, and talk about the events that have just taken place in the world. Dearka and Yzak explain that it can't be helped that ZAFT had then declared their right to aggressive self-defense, because the Alliance attempted to destroy the PLANT's with nuclear weapons. When Athrun is asked to return to ZAFT again, it's explained that both Dearka and Yzak faced a number of problems after the first war, but Gilbert stood by them and said that youths such as themselves shouldn't be punished for the actions started by their leaders, and that because of what they've been through, that they should be the ones entrusted with the future. Dearka explains that's why he's still in ZAFT, because he knows he could make something of it for the sake of the PLANTs and his friends, just like Yzak does. On Earth, while Athrun had a talk with Miriallia Haw, she suggests that she can't stand it when people try to nitpick and complain about the choices she makes with her life, and that she would dump anybody who tried it. Seeing as she mentions dumping Dearka within five minutes of saying that, obvious signs point to that happening between the two, who had dated sometime between SEED and Destiny. Battle of Berlin After that, the Joule team, given FAITH badges, was assigned to the Minerva for escort purposes, and ends up participating in the battle of Berlin, where they were piloting only their custom-colored GOUF Ignited, as their Gundams were left at Voltaire. Seeing the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam engage Athrun in his ZGMF-X09RE Justice RE, the three wanted to stop them, but was kept busy protecting the ship. They were damaged and retreated back to the Minerva and grieved at the death of Heine Westenfluss. Eve of Chaos Athrun, Yzak, Dearka and Nicol would try to persuade their comrades to stop attacking, as they were with the Archangel during the Great War. “Captain! Why are we attacking the Archangel?!” Yzak shouted. Despite the Minerva getting the order to destroy the Archangel, the Joule team used their FAITH privileges to not participate in the battle, as they thought that the Archangel is not an enemy, and Kira Yamato as well. Not long after watching the epic battle between Shinn and Kira during Operation: Angel Down, resulting in the destruction of the Freedom and the supposed sinking of the Archangel by the Minerva. Disgruntled by Shinn's arrogance on defeating the Freedom and killing Kira, Athrun asks the Chairman why the''Archangel'' and Kira were ordered to be shot down. When Shinn replies, Yzak gets mad and punches Shinn, with Dearka and Nicol restraining them. On Gibraltar, they accomplished the escort and was then re-assigned to the Voltaire. When Blue Cosmos/LOGOS is pronounced as the background cause of all of these conflicts by profiting on the economy of warfare, Yzak is visibly irritated by these events. When he snaps at a group of soldiers taking the situation lightly, Dearka and Nicol try to calm him down and remarks that his head is going to explode one day, with his temper.